The Kansas City Chiefs head to Seattle to take on the Seahawks in what looks to be one of Patrick Mahomes’ biggest road tests of the season. The Seahawks are a different team at home so are the Chiefs, which is why the spread is probably much closer than most people think it should be. This game also has playoff implications, as the Chiefs need just one more win to clinch a top-2 seed and a first round bye and the Seahawks need one more win to clinch a playoff berth. Both of those situations are very important to each team, so each team is definitely motivated to win in this primetime game.
Chiefs Rolling On Offense
The Chiefs’ offense is easily the best in the league in my opinion due to their personnel. McVay, Payton, and Nagy are all names getting thrown out there as elite play callers, but the Chiefs are just more talented than those teams. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce are matchup nightmares for any defensive player in the league, which is something that other teams envy.
I am not claiming that those are the 2 best receiving targets in the league, but I think you could definitely make the argument that they are 2 of the hardest matchups in the league. We see shadow corners take on DeAndre Hopkins and Antonio Brown with limited success, but no one in football can truly handle Tyreek Hill’s speed if he executes. Now, he doesn’t execute nearly as well as those other guys as a receiver, but he is still a matchup nightmare because he can get open on anyone. This matchup problem should really shine tonight in Seattle. The Seahawks are without at least one, but likely both, of their starting safeties tonight.
That is a PROBLEM when facing the Kansas City Chiefs. Tyreek Hill can blow the roof off of defenses and Travis Kelce is often lined up on safeties when in man coverage. I’d take Travis Kelce to win that matchup vs the starters, but now they are going to see the backups on both sides of the field, which is incredibly tasty.
Seattle with Much on the Line
The Seahawks’ offense has been very strange this season, especially compared to what we had seen from them in previous years. For a few years now, the biggest knock on the Seattle offense was their poor offensive line play. They really struggled to generate anything on the ground. This year, they have really flipped that on its head, running at one of the highest rates n the league. This has even stopped Russell Wilson from running as much as he used to. The offense used to be centered around a video game offense.
We have a fast QB that can throw so let’s drop back and look for an open receiver every single play. If there is nothing open, have him scramble. This really did allow them to attempt to mask their lack of run blocking ability, as Russ would pick up yards on the ground creatively. However, this got Russ in situations where he would take too many hits and throw too many picks. The Chiefs’ defense gives it up basically everywhere on the field and then some. You want to run? Go for it. Pass? Yeah, sure, do that too.
On the road, the Chiefs are allowing over 34 points per game. That is BAD. I expect Chris Carson to have a lot of room and once again get close to the 100 yard mark. Their WR group is also pretty concentrated with Baldwin appearing healthy once again. I expect the Seahawks to move the ball here with a good amount of consistency, which really will bode well for both offenses.
Lots of Offense in Chiefs Win
I think this game goes way over the total because both offenses will be able to exploit exactly what they want to. The biggest thing that want to lean on in this game is the Chiefs’ offense. In what should be a close, high scoring game, I trust the Chiefs to score more consistently down the stretch. I’ll take the Chiefs (-1.5) here.